This talk with show various widespread and regularized adaptive strategies adopted by individuals, households, and communities. It will demonstrate that not all locally initiated strategies to survive on a daily basis and to address individual and collective needs lead to the promotion of trust, autonomy, collective welfare, or democratic culture. Most of these efforts are responses by individuals, households, communities, and organizations to manage, evade, or take advantage of constraints and opportunities that are often specific to local areas and they may have long-term detrimental effects on society, polity, and the economy. This research highlights the utility of applying interdisciplinary and holistic lenses to assess political implications, and suggest context specific policy prescriptions that are more sensitive to the needs of targeted populations.